On the market: Upgrades burnish home that brought ‘Stepford’ to Stratfield

By Meg Barone

Updated 6:41 am, Saturday, September 12, 2015

Photo: Contributed Photos

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The property at 352 Random Road is on the market for $825,000.

The property at 352 Random Road is on the market for $825,000.

Photo: Contributed Photos

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The living room, with a fireplace, runs from the front to the back of the house.

The living room, with a fireplace, runs from the front to the back of the house.

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The dining room, with built-in china cabinets, has walls covered in silk fabric with a hand-painted mural of flowers and birds.

The dining room, with built-in china cabinets, has walls covered in silk fabric with a hand-painted mural of flowers and birds.

Photo: Contributed / Contributed Photo

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The foyer.

The foyer.

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Kitchen upgrades preserved a brick fireplace that had been used as an indoor grill.

Kitchen upgrades preserved a brick fireplace that had been used as an indoor grill.

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The family room is located off the kitchen.

The family room is located off the kitchen.

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The library has paneling, a fireplace and built-in shelves.

The library has paneling, a fireplace and built-in shelves.

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One of the home's four bedrooms.

One of the home's four bedrooms.

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The backyard of the Random Road house.

The backyard of the Random Road house.

Photo: Contributed Photos

On the market: Upgrades burnish home that brought ‘Stepford’ to Stratfield

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Hollywood came knocking on the door of the yellow house with white shutters at 352 Random Road in the Stratfield section of town in the mid-1970s. The exterior of the classic colonial, built in 1952 on a slight hill on a 1.05-acre parcel, was singled out by film location scouts and it was featured in the 1975 movie “The Stepford Wives,” starring Katharine Ross.

Film crews missed an opportunity by training cameras only on the home’s exterior. Had the crews ventured inside they would have found much worth filming and it’s only improved since then. The house, designed by local architect Evan Pollitt and built by Herzog and Komlos for prominent town residents Sidney and Eunice Postol, both of whom served in several public and community offices over the years, recently underwent major renovation and updating, which included a new chef’s kitchen.

Eunice Postol left an indelible mark on the town’s fabric as well. She also served on many boards and commissions and was a selectman during Jacquelyn Durrell’s tenure as first selectman. The town’s Recreation Center on Mill Plain Road is named in her honor, as is a community service award.

The Postols entertained often in this 3,583-square-foot house. Guests would enter first into the center hall foyer, which has five closets; a hint at the amount of storage space and closets found in this house. The front door is flanked by sidelights with decorative leaded glass.

The living room and the master bedroom suite directly above it both stretch from the front to the back of the house. The living room has a wide black marble fireplace and a bow window flanked by built-in bookshelves. This room and the formal dining room have plush wall-to-wall carpeting but under that carpeting and throughout the rest of the house there are hardwood floors. On the second floor there is no carpeting so one can see the wide board pegged floors.

More Information

ABOUT THIS HOUSE

TYPE: Classic Colonial

ADDRESS: 352 Random Road

PRICE: $825,000

NUMBER OF ROOMS: 10

FEATURES: minutes to shopping and restaurants in Stratfield Village and Black Rock Turnpike, proximity to Fairchild Wheeler Golf Course and Lt. Owen Fish Park, 1.05-acre level and sloping property, new roof in 2014, exterior painted in 2014, new kitchen, new furnace and central air unit, electric system upgraded to 200 AMPs, wet bar, hand-painted wall covering in dining room, heated sun room, a secret closet, three fireplaces, two attics, attic fan, storm doors and windows, stone walls, four bedrooms, three full and one half updated baths

In the dining room the walls are covered with a striking silk fabric on which was hand-painted a mural of flowers and birds. There are two built-in corner china cabinets with traditional Colonial-era scalloping motif, arched woodwork capped in a keystone. The room also has cove lighting and French doors to the heated sun room.

Features in the new kitchen include white cabinets, Carrara marble counters, tile floor and backsplash and KitchenAid stainless appliances with a five-year warranty. But in a nod to the home’s origins, designs for the new kitchen kept in place the small red brick wall fireplace, which the Postols used year-round as an indoor grill. A small breakfast room has a door to the heated porch.

The family room or den is off the kitchen and it has access to the library, which can also be reached through the foyer. It has oak paneling on the walls, plantation shutters, a fireplace and one wall of built-in shelving. The library and den could be opened to create one large family room.

Upstairs, there are four bedrooms, two of them en suite. One bedroom has three closets, including a secret one, and a door to a large balcony/deck. The wallpaper depicts a repeated pattern of a nautical map and the Charles W. Morgan whaler, which has long been housed at Mystic Seaport.

In the partially finished full basement there is a playroom and a wet bar.

For more information or to set up an appointment to see the house, contact Ruth Madwed of William Raveis Real Estate at 203-368-8486 or email her at ruth.madwed@raveis.com.